Pesadillas Lunares
by L-wolf13
Summary: Yuffentine. Post DoC. Just when Vincent felt that Hojo and his experiments were finished, a night on the full moon proves him wrong and the nightmare begins. Can Yuffie help before it's too late? Summary sux, doesn't it?
1. Hunt

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or any of it's chars. (as much as I would like to...) If I did own it, Vincent would be in a lot of trouble

Vincent: Should I be afraid?

L-wolf13: Yes, Vincent. You should be **_very _**afraid...

Vincent: OO;

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**Chapter One**

Hunt

**Somewhere in the middle of Edge…**

A dark figure stalked through moonlit streets, silent, unseen, hunting…

She lifted her nose to the air and breathed deeply, sifting through the different smells, searching for just the one. The figure grinned, displaying a set of sharp,

gleaming fangs; her eyes glowed with satisfaction as the scent of her prey reached her sensitive nose. She dug her claws into the ground in anticipation and

continued on, suppressing her excitement and saving her energy for later. That man…he was close…_very close. _She lifted her nose to the sky once more, and emitted

a long, baleful howl.

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Don't be upset that the first few chapters are short. That's just the way I write. I promise you, the chapters after ten will be MUCH longer. R&R please? No flaming, because you'd be wasting your time.


	2. Attack

Disclaimer: Do I have to say it? You all know it! But I'll say it. I don't own FFVII or its characters. The (c) goes to Squeenix.

Vincent: Why the hell are you sending a werewolf after me?!

L-wolf13: Because I want to make you do wolfish things before you actually change.

Vincent: Was that a spoiler?

L-wolf13: Mmaayybee...

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Attack

**In the 7****th**** Heaven…**

Vincent Valentine sat in one of the darker recesses of the bar, slouched over the table, running his claw in patterns over the surface, clutching an almost empty wine glass in his human hand. He downed the last of its contents and set it aside…with about twenty-nine others. He looked around the noisy room with half-lidded eyes, his vision blurring and swaying a bit. He closed his eyes, a wave of dizziness and fatigue washing over him.

"M-maybe I should s-stop." He mumbled to himself, getting ready to pass out on the seat.

"Damn, Vinnie! You sure can drink!" Yuffie said plopping down right next to him. "Don't drink too much, though! Next thing you know, you'll be calling Ralph & Chuck all over the floor with a splitting headache!"

"I think…iz a lil' bit late fer tha' warnin'…" he mumbled, collapsing on top of the table. Yuffie sighed and stood up.

'I guess I'll just let him be, now. After all, there's no point talkin' to him while he's passed out! Despite how cute he is…' With that thought, she skipped off to go bother Cid for a while.

Vincent raised his head when he was sure she was gone. He sat back and sighed. She was right: tomorrow morning was gonna be spent hugging porcelain. He opened his eyes and looked out the window, his vision settling enough for him to make out a huge shadow looming over him, blue eyes glowing and sharp fangs shining. His eyes widened and he blinked, unsure if it was the booze or if he had really seen it. When he opened his eyes again, it was gone. He turned his gaze away from the window and shook his head.

"I must be even more wasted than I thought." He muttered to himself. However, when he turned to look back out the window, the same shadow crashed through it, extending its claws out towards him. Someone screamed in the background. Despite his inebriated state, Vincent was quickly able to pull Cerberus from its holster and fire at its head. The creature, which seemed to him like the Galian Beast, dodged the bullets and roared, presenting its rows of dangerous teeth. It charged and tried to fasten its jaws around his shoulder, but missed as he rolled out of reach and darted towards the door, luring it away from the other people in the building. Flexing its claws with excitement, the beast gave chase.

"Vinnie!!" shouted Yuffie running out of the bar.

He disappeared down the street with the monster right on his heels.

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Did you like that chapter? I hope so. You know the drill R&R, please.


	3. Pursuit

Disclaimer: I should think of something funny to put here. But for the moment, I'll just say that FFVII and its chars. belong to Squeenix. But Vincent's arse will always belong to me...or Yuffie. Depends on my mood.

Yuffie: How come I don't get to have it **all** the time?!

L-wolf13: Because only a fraction of that time belongs to me. Don't worry. You get to have him all to yourself in every story I write. M'kay?

Yuffie: Woo-hoo!!

Vincent: Excuse me?

L-wolf13: You heard me!

Vincent: Don't I get any say in who my "arse", as you put it, belongs to?

L-wolf13/Yuffie: NO!!

Vincent: TT-TT...

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**Chapter Three**

Pursuit

**Back in the bar…**

Everyone was gaping, wide-eyed, or both, recovering from the shock of what had just happened.

"What the hell was that?" Cid said walking to the door by Yuffie.

"I'd like to know the same thing!" said Tifa in confusion.

"That looked like a werewolf to me." said Red XIII coming to stand at the doorway as well. Everyone else from AVALANCHE went outside and stared in the direction Vincent and the werewolf had gone.

"Why was it after Vincent?" wondered Cloud. Without warning, Yuffie charged inside, snatched her Conformer, and bolted down the street after Vincent.

"Yuffie!!" shouted the group. Everyone ran inside, grabbed their weapons and followed suit.

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Yeah. Chapters are still short for now. Get over it. R&R. Please. I will love you all forever if you do.


	4. Caught

Disclaimer: Why do I bother? You all know that FFVII doesn't belong to me! (If it did, well...I probably shouldn't say...) Anyway, FFVII belongs to Squeenix.

Vincent: I'm curious. What **would** happen if you owned it?

L-wolf13: You really want to know?

Vincent: Now that you say that, I'm not so sure...

L-wolf13: Meh. I'll tell you in the next disclaimer.

Vincent: ...

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Caught

**Somewhere in a dark alley…**

Vincent aimed Cerberus at the werewolf's head for the sixth time. And once again, she dodged the bullets and charged, aiming for his shoulder. Out of ammo and not enough time to reload, instead of moving out of the way, Vincent clenched his claw into a fist and delivered a bone crushing uppercut to the beast's jaw, sending her reeling backwards. He used the moment to his advantage and rammed himself into the beast's mid-section, tackling her to the floor, bringing his metal fist down on her head over and over, each time drawing more and more blood with each blow. There was a pause between punches longer than the others that the werewolf used to maneuver her feet underneath Vincent and launch him away. He flipped in the air, landing gracefully a few meters away from her.

Recovering quickly, she charged, roaring furiously, dodging to the sides in a swift zigzag motion, leaping out of his line of vision to extend her claws and slash four, deep wounds into his chest. Vincent yelped in pain and surprise as he was thrown against the wall of the nearest building, landing in a heap. The werewolf approached him slowly and deliberately, blue eyes glowing.

Vincent looked up into her eyes in a daze, panting. He should have easily been able to transform into one of his Limit Breaks, but somehow they were all out of his mental reach. The werewolf kneeled before him, keeping eye contact, and brandishing her fangs in a sort of creepy, elongated grin. Vincent couldn't look away; couldn't think; couldn't move. The beast reached out and grabbed the front of his cloak, pulling him towards her and pulling his head back by his raven hair, exposing the pale skin at the base of his neck. She licked her lips in anticipation and opened her jaws over his shoulder, taking a moment to relish in the sound of his heavy breathing before sinking her teeth deeply into his warm flesh, causing Vincent to emit a strangled cry as the beast dug her fangs even deeper into him, an intense burning sensation coursing through his body. He cried out again as she opened her jaws again and pulled back, blood dripping from her fangs. She got what she wanted and now it was time for her to leave, before anyone else saw.

Leaping back, she disappeared over the rooftops, leaving a bloodied Vincent to stagger painfully back to the inn. Too much in pain to be completely aware of his surroundings, Vincent remained oblivious to the shadow that had been watching the whole time, outlined by the silver light of the full moon.

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You know you liked that chapter. "Who was that watching him?" you're probably wondering. You'll find out later. Just keep reading. Oh, and, please R&R! Thank you!


	5. Anxiety

Disclaimer: Yes, I'm a theif, but NOT an art theif! FFVII belongs to, and **only** to, Squeenix.

Vincent: ...uunghh...oh my gawd...what the hell did I do to deserve that?! AAAUUUGGGHHH!!...pain here...

L-wolf13: Nothing! I, uh, I just kinda, sorta, really, truly, rather...WANT'D2CUINPAINB'CUZIZSADISTICLEIKDAT!!

Vincent: What did you say?!

L-wolf13: What did you hear?

Vincent: I didn't understand **any** of what you just sai- AAARRRGGGHHHhaahaa...my back..!

L-wolf13: Wow. You're really bleeding there. You want a band-aid? Maybe some bacitracin?

Vincent: Yes...please...um...I think...I'm just gonna go find a dark corner and curl up into a ball...

L-wolf13: OK, amigo.

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**Chapter Five**

Anxiety

**Back at the 7****th**** Heaven…**

Yuffie sat silently with Tifa, Cloud and Cid, tapping her fingers impatiently and anxiously on the table.

"Dammit, Brat!" shouted Cid. "Would you quit tapping yer f#(in' fingers on the f#(in' table?! Fer cryin' out loud!" The young ninja stopped without saying anything, not even glancing at him, keeping her gaze fixed on the tabletop.

"Cid. Calm down." Sighed Cloud.

"Yeah, I mean, we don't even know what happened." said Tifa, trying to be optimistic. Nanaki came over and set his paw gently on Yuffie's lap.

"Don't worry, Miss Yuffie. I'm sure he's alright. You know Mister Vincent." Yuffie nodded solemnly and reached down to pet the red lion dog's great head. He sighed. This was so unlike her. Everyone had more than half expected her to go into a rant and begin shouting about how she would turn that beast into a carpet stain if it had laid a hand…err…paw on her friend. Yet here she sat, sitting silently waiting for something to turn up.

"Come. Let's take a walk." He suggested. She nodded and got up, following Nanaki out the door without a word.

"Poor Yuffie. She hasn't said a word since last night." said Tifa, looking after Yuffie sympathetically.

_Flashback_

_Yuffie hadn't been running long when she heard a distant cry pierce the night. She ran even faster, when another one followed it a moment after, and then all was quiet. She ran and ran, never faltering in her steps, going as fast as her legs would carry her. She skidded to a stop in front of a dark alley where the irony smell of blood hung heavily in the air. She peered desperately into the darkness for any sign of life; nothing moved and her trained ears picked up nothing but dead silence. The gang caught up to her quickly and stopped behind her standing quietly in front of the alley; there was nothing and no one there. Yuffie turned back and walked away, a look of blank shock on her face. _

"_Yuffie! Hey! Where are you going?" Tifa called after her. Yuffie didn't turn back and kept walking taking no note of the trail of blood leading out of the alley._

_End Flashback_

'I wonder if he's okay. I hope so.' Yuffie thought.

"You know," began Nanaki, waking Yuffie from her thoughts, "even if he was wounded, it couldn't be fatal. He does, after all, have a great healing ability."

Yuffie nodded again, somewhat heartened by Nanaki's words.

* * *

Was the disclaimer too much? For those of you who could read that little bit of squished words, pay no heed to it. It's not true...no, really it's not! R&R, please and thank you!


	6. Shock

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I do not own FFVII or any of it's characters.

Vincent: Um...

L-wolf13: Feeling better?

Vincent: Not exactly. But, wasn't there something you were going to say back in the Chapter 4 disclaimer?

L-wolf13: You mean about what would happen if I owned Final Fantasy?

Vincent: Yes.

L-wolf13: You wanna know?

Vincent: Yes.

L-wolf13: You really wanna know?!

Vincent: Yes!

L-wolf13: You really,** really** wanna know?

Vincent: Just say it already, gawddammit!!

L-wolf13: Well...

Vincent: WHAT?!

L-wolf13: I think I forgot!

Vincent: ...

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Shock

**In a room of a quiet inn…**

Vincent winced as he re-bandaged the bloody wound he received. He groaned, biting back another cry as pain exploded into his shoulder, chest, and back, being forced to move his arm around to get the bandage on. When he finished, he sighed in slight relief and closed his eyes, trying to clear his head of all the thoughts and questions that plagued his mind. He opened his eyes again when he felt the warm, wet sensations start up…again.

'Why can't I stop bleeding?' he wondered wearily. His mind strayed back to last night when Yuffie had called out his name. She must be worried about him. He decided to go to the 7th Heaven and let everyone know he was okay…to the untrained eye at least. He was practiced at feigning good health, able to ignore pain to a certain extent. As long as the wounds weren't agitated by any extreme movement or contact, everything would be just fine. His mind made up, he sighed and carefully got his shirt back on, doing his best not to move his arm too much. He got his cape on, and headed out, vaguely aware of some unseen and watchful presence.

* * *

I should mention that the injury is to his left shoulder. Anyway, I hope you all continue to read and enjoy the story! And please R&R! I will love you forever and ever and not only that but you'll be rewarded with more chapters!


	7. Effort

Disclaimer: I wonder how many of these I'll have to type before I get bored of them...But, I don't own FFVII or its chars.

Vincent: ...

L-wolf13: What?

Vincent: ...

L-wolf13: What?!

Vincent:...You're a bitch...

L-wolf13: I'm a bitch?!

Vincent: Yes...

L-wolf13: I love that song! (starts singing "I'm a Bitch")

Vincent: ...

**

* * *

**

Chapter Seven

Effort

**In the 7****th**** Heaven…**

Yuffie and Nanaki returned from their walk with Yuffie looking in slightly better spirits than earlier. She still didn't say much, though. She sat in one of the empty booths in the corner, where Vincent usually sat.

'I wonder when he'll come back.' Yuffie thought. She reached down to pet Nanaki again before looking out the window in time to see a familiar red cape disappear towards the door of the 7th Heaven. She leapt up at the sight of the stoic gunman and raced up to him, throwing her arms around him (and his still bleeding injuries) tightly. As she did so, he lost his balance and fell against the wall, hitting the back of his wounded shoulder. It was all he could do not to call out in pain, which, thanks to his efforts, came out as nothing more than a pained grunt. Luckily, the young ninja took no notice, too engulfed with joy and relief to see 'PAIN' written all over his face. She continued embracing him tightly, causing him to grind his teeth and drag his claws against the wall, leaving deep marks.

"Vinnie, I'm so glad you're okay!! I was so worried about you!!" she said burying her face into his chest.

"Err…Miss Yuffie? I think you should let him go for a moment. Or at least loosen your grip and let him breathe," said Nanaki, noticing Vincent's expression. Vincent gave him a grateful nod.

"Huh..? Oh! Sorry, Vinnie! It's just that I'm so happy that you're okay! I was really worried and I thought that thing had hurt you or something or maybe- - hey, what's that smell?" Yuffie stopped and sniffed the air.

'Shit!! I must think of something quick!' thought Vincent, mentally panicking.

"It smells like blood!" Yuffie said, looking at him worriedly.

'That's it!' "That must be the blood that got on me when I shot its' brains out." He said as coolly as he could manage, faking a smirk.

"Wow, Vinnie! That's great!"

'Nice save.'

"I wish I could've been there to help! I wish I could've laid the smack down on that thing!" She started air-boxing.

'No you don't.' Vincent thought grimly. 'Look what happened to _me_ when_ I_ tried it!' He felt blood seeping through the bandages. 'Great. I'm bleeding again.' Yuffie stopped air-boxing and hugged him again, more gently this time, and sighed.

"But that doesn't matter." She said quietly, surprising the gunman. "All that does matter is that you're okay." Vincent was surprised by Yuffie's behavior and rested his human hand on her head, comfortingly.

"Hey, is that Vincent?" said Tifa from behind the bar. He nodded to her, Cloud appearing from upstairs at the sound of the gunman's name. They exchanged greeting looks as Cloud approached Vincent with Tifa beside him. He would've walked up to them if a certain Wutaian ninja hadn't anchored him to the spot.

"Glad to see you're alright." said Cloud, resting his hand on the other man's shoulder. Vincent gave a mental sigh of relief that it was his other shoulder.

"Why don't we sit down?" he suggested, hiding the fact that getting there and acting like he wasn't hurt was costing him a great effort. They picked one of the booths, Yuffie still attached to the crimson-eyed gunman, while they talked about what happened in the alley. Vincent, of course had to make up a convincing story, telling them that the beast had him cornered and, seeing an opportunity, rushed him. He whipped Cerberus out at the last moment, aiming for the heart and head. The beast was down for a moment before getting back up and engaging him again. Vincent ran out of the alley and stopped behind the wall. The beast took the bait and turned the corner, Vincent running after. He aimed and fired one last shot at the back of its head, killing it. Their expressions were filled with awe. They congratulated and praised him, and Vincent had to hold back a grimace; he felt bad. He hated lying, and to his friends, no less. They continued talking afterwards for hours (Vincent was actually doing more listening.) until the sun set.

Yeah, I got nothing to say right now except R&R. And thank you to those who are reading this!


	8. Secret

Disclaimer: The privelage of owning FFVII goes to Squeenix.

Vincent: ...You know...

L-wolf13: Hm?

Vincent: ...there's something I forgot to ask...

L-wolf13: Okay! Shoot!

Vincent: Will I **at least** be spared the pain of transforming when the full moon comes?

L-wolf13: ...

Vincent: Well?

L-wolf13: Ah hahaa...no.

Vincent: WHAT THE F#(K!!

L-wolf13: Okay! Okay! You won't feel any pain! Just a strainy feeling! Maybe some pulling and itching as you get bigger and grow fur. But it wont hurt! And you may feel as though your spine is being pulled out as your tail grows in. But no pain!

Vincent: I'm not sure I'm exactly satisfied wth your answer...

L-wolf13: Would you like me to describe some of the **other** sensations?

Vincent: Actually, no.

L-wolf13: Then shut your trap, tadpole.

Vincent: Excuse me?

L-wolf13: ...

**

* * *

**

Chapter Eight

Secret

**Outside the 7****th**** Heaven…**

Vincent was getting ready to leave, when a voice from behind stopped him.

"Vinnie!" Yuffie came running out of the door, her face beaming.

"Yuffie."

"I-I just wanted to say…" her voice trailed off and she looked down to the side, blushing.

"…"

"I'm…glad…that you're okay." She said, a little hesitantly. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to say.

"…Yuffie…" he said walking towards her. She just leapt to embrace him, burying her face once again into his wounded chest. Vincent gasped and tightened the grip he had on her arm; she unwittingly struck one of the more tender spots on his chest. He stood panting, trying to control the pulsating pain he felt in his chest, back and shoulder.

'I've had enough for today!' he thought, desperately as his wounds throbbed torturously.

"Vinnie?" His eyes snapped open.

'Oh no…' Yuffie was gazing up at him with worry and confusion in her stormy grey eyes. They traveled down to his shirt where she had just put her cheek; it was wet with some thick, black substance. She raised her hand to her cheek and peered at it.

"B-blood..? Vinnie, what..? What is this?" she looked up at him again, with fear added to her expression.

'Dammit.' He couldn't hide it anymore. He couldn't lie to her again. He took her aside into a nearby alley and collapsed, leaning against a wall, now not even bothering to try and hide it. When he regained some of his composure, he turned to Yuffie, who continued to stare at him with wide eyes.

"Yuffie…before I explain…I want you to promise, _promise_, that you will not let the others know about this." He said, desperation filling his crimson eyes, but never crossing his features. Hearing this, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. The thing that troubled her was trying to keep from everyone the fact that Vincent, their dear friend and comrade, was hurt; trying to act like everything was great while the man she cared about most was secretly suffering. And then he had to go and give her that look of utter desperation, tearing her heart in two. But she had made her decision; Vincent was trusting her with this secret and who else could he confide in if not her? She sobbed and nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I promise..!" she said. Vincent approached her and embraced her gently, closing his eyes.

"Yuffie…I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for this…" The young ninja slowly wrapped her own arms around him, sobbing into his chest.

* * *

You know it was sweet! I'll bet thousands of Yuffentine fans out there would be leik "Awww..." if they read this! R&R, thank you for reading, please continue!


	9. Secret Alternative

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own FFVIII or any of its characters. That'd be badass if I did, though...

Vincent: I have a question.

L-wolf13: I may have an answer!

Vincent: You think I'm attractive, correct?

L-wolf13: Wait! Ah-wha-what-! How can you ask that so bluntly?! -blush-

Vincent: Just answer the question.

L-wolf13: Alright! YES, DAMMIT!!

Vincent: Alright. Now I have a suspicion.

L-wolf13: S-suspicion..?!

Vincent: Are you sadistic?

L-wolf13: Well, that's all the time we have for the disclaimer! Let's get on with the story!!

Vincent: It's just a question.

L-wolf13: Shaddup!!

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Redux**

Secret

**Outside the 7th Heaven…**

Vincent was getting ready to leave, when a voice from behind stopped him.

"Vinnie!" Yuffie came running out of the door, her face beaming.

"Yuffie."

"I-I just wanted to say…" her voice trailed off and she looked down to the side, blushing.

"…"

"I'm…glad…that you're okay." She said, a little hesitantly. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to say.

"…Yuffie…" he said walking towards her. She just leapt to embrace him, but he stopped her, grabbing her by the arms to keep her back. She looked back up at him; his expression was calm and barely betrayed the fact that he was feeling pain.

"Vinnie?"

"Try not to knock the wind out of me this time." He said softly releasing her arms, faking yet another smirk to seem normal. She grinned at his sense of humor, something she hardly ever did, and gently wrapped her arms around him. He wrapped his own arms around her, wondering why she was attaching herself to him like this lately.

"Tell me, Yuffie,"

"Yes?"

"What's with all the affection lately?" Her eyes widened and she blushed then let go of him and looked down to the side in embarrassment.

"You don't have to be nervous." He turned to look up at the waning moon that had just begun to rise. He suddenly felt a painful pulse sweep through him, nearly bringing him to his knees. His normal hand wanted to come up to clutch at his racing heart, but he checked himself and instead brought it up to his mouth, turning his painful grunt into a fit of coughs. But that motion rather backfired. Blood came up with each cough and he felt his wounds reopening from the harsh motion.

"Vinnie?!" Yuffie's attention snapped back up to the ailing gunman who was now doubled over in a fit of rib-racking coughs. She rested her hand on his chest and around his broad shoulders for support as she helped him to the ground.

"Vinnie…"

The coughing eased to a stop, leaving poor Vincent bleeding, lightheaded and gasping for breath. He was eventually able to pull himself back together and collect his thoughts, reestablishing his usual composure.

"Vinnie..?" Yuffie repeated uncertainly.

He got up and dusted himself of as if he'd only fallen and turned to leave. She had removed her hands and was now inspecting them with horrified eyes.

'Oh no…'

Yuffie was gazing up at him with worry and confusion in her stormy grey eyes.

"B-blood..? Vinnie, what-?!" she looked up at him again, with fear added to her expression.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He said looking back at her.

"Don't worry about it? Don't **worry about it?!** Vinnie, how can you say 'it's nothing' after what I just saw?!"

"Yuffie, I'm telling you, it's nothing." He said as calmly as he could.

"And I'm telling **you** that you're **hiding** something!"

"I can assure you that I'm not hiding **anything**." He said, trying to make his voice firm without sounding angry.

"Oh yeah?" she said crossing her arms. "Turn around."

"Yuffie, you're wasting your time." He said remaining with his back to her. He didn't realize that she had come up behind him to force him around until he felt her hand clamp onto his shoulder and shove him roughly about to face her. He was shocked, to say the least, that she was so daring and he watched her with incredulity in his eyes as she inspected him with disbelief. She suddenly stepped back and glared at him furiously, balling her fists up at her sides.

"You **lied** **to us!!**" she cried angrily, glaring at his blood soaked shirt.

"Yuffie…" He couldn't meet her furious gaze now. She had caught him in a lie and now would be demanding an explanation. And he'd get only two choices: he could tell her and like it or he could tell her and **not** like it. Either way, she was getting the truth.

He sighed in defeat and frustration, running his hand through his ebony hair. He was tired and hurt and, despite how childish to him it seemed, he just wanted to go home.

"Fine. Come with me." He said taking her by the wrist.

'Dammit.' He couldn't hide anymore. He couldn't lie to her again. He took her aside into a nearby alley and collapsed, leaning against a wall, the effort of concealing his ailing condition finally taking its toll on him.

This was more than Yuffie could bear. She had to look away to prevent tears from spilling down her face. She blinked them away as Vincent regained his own composure, leaning his back against the wall with his eyes closed in concentration.

"How long were you planning on keeping this from us?" Yuffie asked quietly. Vincent opened his eyes and sighed, pushing himself off the wall to stand in front of her.

"Only as long as I needed to."

"And how long is that?" she glared at him again.

'Please don't look at me like that…' "As long as it would take me to find a way to change back."

There was silence between them, and Vincent, realizing that Yuffie wasn't going to break it, sighed and brought his hand up to his forehead, his other hand on his hip.

"Yuffie…before I explain…I want you to promise, **promise**, that you will not let the others know about this." He said, willing her to realize how important secrecy was right now. There was a desperate light in his eyes, but she wasn't looking at him and thus took no notice. She blinked, trying to stop the tears from showing as she thought about what he had just asked of her.

It troubled her that she would have to lie to everyone to conceal the fact that Vincent, their dear friend and comrade, was hurt; to act like everything was great while the man she cared about most was secretly suffering. It broke her heart just thinking about it, but at the moment she felt that she had no choice. She felt trapped and she finally broke out into silent tears, making the stoic gunman feel all the more guilty. She sobbed and nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I promise..!" she said. Vincent sighed and hesitantly reached out to embrace the young ninja, thinking that was perhaps the last thing she wanted. But when he had her securely in his grasp, she melted into the embrace, burying her tearstained face into his chest.

"Yuffie…I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for this…" The young ninja slowly brought her hands up to clutch at his shirt, sobbing silently into the fabric.

* * *

This chapter was for the people who thought that Vince and Yuffie were way OOC in the original chapter. Plus there's more detail. R&R, please


	10. Confession

Disclaimer: No, FFVII still doesn't belong to me. It's still property of Squeenix.

Vincent: So...

L-wolf13: Yes?

Vincent: Just out of random curiosity, what am I gonna look like?

L-wolf13: As a werewolf? Or for the rest of the story?

Vincent: Well, now that you mention it, both.

L-wolf13: Well, throughout the rest of the story, you won't be wearing your cape because the color red is gonna start to make you spazz out.

Vincent: What?

L-wolf13: Yeah, because it's the color of blood.

Vincent: Oh. I guess that makes sense.

L-wolf13: Yeah. And as a werewolf, well, if you want a clear picture, you'll have to check out my deviantART. You'll find it under the name "Getsumen no Akumu".

Vincent: Are you advertising to the people who are reading this?

L-wolf13: Umm...not if it's against the rules!

Vincent: - -;

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Confession

**Back at Vincent's room…**

Yuffie helped Vincent with his bandages as he told her the _real_ story behind the incident in the alley.

"So you saw it come after me. Well, after that, I ran away, leading it away from everyone else. I stopped inside the alley to give it less space to dodge. It worked, but it was resilient and continued coming back. I ran out of bullets, so instead of moving out of the way I charged it and punched it in the jaw, knocking it back. Ungh!" He winced as Yuffie accidently scraped her nail against his wound.

"Sorry!" she said, panic in her voice.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it. Anyway, I tackled it and continued striking it in the head with my claw, trying to knock it out. But I paused to see if it was unconscious yet. When I did that, it moved its feet under me and threw me off. I landed okay, but I think I pissed it off, because it charged me again, only this time, it was faster and it dodged out of my sight. It came from my left and slashed me," he brought his human hand up to his chest where the wound was, "and threw me against a wall. I was out of it for a moment, but when I looked back up, I saw its eyes; glowing blue eyes. I couldn't look away from it; I couldn't move or think right. I couldn't even tap into my Limit Breaks…" He paused, remembering the awful sensation of helplessness as he was drawn forward slowly by the front of his cape then having his head pulled back sharply by his hair. He remembered the dread that had spread through him as his vulnerable throat was exposed. He shut his eyes as the throbbing in his wounds worsened as he recalled the bite; sharp, slightly serrated fangs dug into him releasing a powerful sort of poison that spread through his body, making it feel as though his blood had been turned to acid. The beast released him from its powerful jaws and then it just left him. A bite was all it wanted and then it left him there, bleeding. His eyes snapped open; something was suddenly creeping into his thoughts…something primal and dangerous. He suddenly found himself rather unable to focus and regain his normal thoughts. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

"Vinnie?" The abnormal thoughts receded, somehow leaving him feeling confused and strangely drained.

"Vinnie!" He jumped at Yuffie's voice and turned to look at her.

"Sorry."

"What happened next?" she asked quietly.

"It bit me. And then it left."

"It…it just…left you..?" she asked quietly.

"Yes." He noticed that she had finished dressing his wounds and was now absently resting her hand on his shoulder. He reached up with his human hand, resting it on hers gently. He felt her jump, but she did not draw her hand away. He closed his eyes, his mind and body craving sleep. He scooted back allowing himself space to stretch out on his stomach and fell asleep with Yuffie right beside him.

* * *

Hope you guys liked this chapter! Yuffentine begins naow! Erm...actually next chapter...but still! So, R&R, and please keep reading! Thanky you! :3


	11. Revelation

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII. If I did own it, there would be another game.

Vincent: Are you just writing this because you want to make a fool of me?

L-wolf13: What makes you say that?

Vincent: These "urges" as you call them. How wolf-like are you going to make them?

L-wolf13: Well, they'll range from the little things like licking your paws after your done eating, to sniffing ass to get to know someone!

Vincent: I'm going to WHAT?!

L-wolf13: I'm kidding.

Vincent: You'd better be.

L-wolf13: Or else?

Vincent: I'm not telling.

L-wolf13: O.O;

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Revelation

**The following morning…**

Vincent woke up feeling sore and disoriented. But he quickly remembered the events of the previous night and propped him self up on an elbow to look around, searching for Yuffie. Without knowing, he had begun to sniff the air for her scent, and when he realized what he was doing, his hand flew up to his face in surprise.

'What am I doing?' he thought in confusion. He shook his head and went into the bathroom to take a shower. He stood there, resting his hand on the wall, letting the water run over him, relaxing his sore muscles and washing away the blood, getting used to the water stinging his wounds. As he hung his head tiredly, he watched his blood flow down the drain. As he stared, captivated by the suddenly interesting substance, he felt the same sensation as last night creep into his mind. The smell of blood grew stronger, the sound of the water grew louder and he felt a sudden urge to lick it all up. He was so tempted that he almost knelt down to do it. But he checked himself, frowning.

'I have to find a way to control these urges.' He thought.

After he had finished cleaning up, he proceeded to re-bandage his wounds and get dressed. As he was reaching for his cape and headband, he stopped and stared at them; the color of blood. The urges acted up again, but fainter this time. He shook them off and decided to go without them.

'I wonder how bad they'll get before I actually make a fool of myself.'

He headed silently downstairs towards the lobby, intent on finding Yuffie there. He entered the room and was almost immediately greeted by a joyful cry from his right accompanied by something crashing into him, nearly knocking him to the ground. He looked down to see the hyperactive ninja beaming back at him. He gave her a small smirk in return and he could've sworn her eyes nearly popped out of her head when he did that.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Did the poker-faced gunslinger, Vincent Valentine, just smile?!" she said eyes wide with awe.

"I guess I did." he said, significantly more quiet than her. She laughed at that and looked him up and down.

"And not just that, but you aren't carrying that shredded excuse for a cape on you, either! What a surprise!" she started laughing again. He raised a brow at her remark on his cape. He rather liked it, even if it was slightly torn in a few places.

"By the way Vinnie," she said, calling him out of his thoughts, "how are you feeling?" she still had a smile on her face, but it never reached her eyes.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm actually feeling better than yesterday." He said, trying to convince her that he wasn't bullshitting her.

"You're not bullshitting me, are you Vinnie?" seemingly reading his mind. "Cause I don't want to force you to go out today if you're not feeling okay, you hear me?" She put her hands on her hips.

"Really, Yuffie. I'm fine." He said. She sighed.

"Okay. But the moment I see you so much as _wince_ we're coming back. Got it?" She turned and walked toward the door. Vincent stood there for a moment and smirked.

'I got it.' He thought with amusement.

They headed out to the 7th Heaven, Vincent noticing the whole way that he was receiving considerably less stares than usual.

'It's the cape, isn't it?' he thought grudgingly at Yuffie. When he looked ahead of him to where the Wutaian princess was walking (kind of skipping, actually), he noticed how much more appealing to the eye she had become since they had first met. Back then, she was little more than a twig. But now…he was watching as her hips swayed teasingly at him.

An almost hungry look invaded his eyes and he quickened his pace to catch up to her, intent on keeping her lush form in his sights. He felt an odd excitement rise up within him such as he had never felt before. He felt the need to take her aside and…

'HOLD ON!!' He stopped his thoughts right there, realizing what he'd almost done; his hand was slightly outstretched, as if he was getting ready to do a bit of ass grabbing. He snatched his hand away, and instead raised it to his face in attempt to hide the furious blush that had risen up and stayed.

'I _really_ need to pay more attention to what I'm doing. Or else people will start labeling me as a pervert!'

As he continued thinking about his little problem, he sensed, yet again, a strange presence following him just like the one he felt the day before. Sensing no danger, he hesitantly ignored it and continued with his search for a solution to his 'werewolf predicament'.

'Perhaps I should tell Nanaki about this. He's usually pretty reliable with these kinds of situations. He may know where I can get information about this.'

"Vinnie?" his attention snapped back to the present by Yuffie's impatient voice. She was looking at him like he had just done something extremely stupid.

"What?"

"You spaced out on me! I said your name like a million times! What's on your mind?"

"I think we should tell Nanaki about my 'little problem'. He may know where we can get information so we can…change me back." He felt odd uttering those last three words, but he shrugged it off and focused on the task at hand.

"Yeah, I agree with you, Vinnie! He's usually an expert with these sorts of things, isn't he?" Vincent nodded. "Alright! Then let's hurry up and get there so we can ask him!"

Did she have to cheer for every little thing?

They soon reached the 7th Heaven, which was packed with old drunks and the stench of smoke and alcohol. As soon as he got a whiff of it, Vincent's eyes immediately watered up and his hand flew up to his face again, for the third time that day. He doubled over, coughing, the smell being much stronger than he remembered.

"Vinnie! Are you alright?!" Yuffie turned to him with panic in her eyes and voice. He tried to speak but it came out as a fit of coughs. So he only nodded and shut his watery eyes, keeping his hand tightly over his now sensitive nose.

"Oh, I get it. It's the smell, isn't it?" He nodded again. "Is it the…you know what?" He gave her pleading eyes. "Well, let's go ask Tifa if he's here. Then we'll go outside so you can breathe. Okay?" She grabbed him by the wrist of his claw and dragged him up to the bar.

"Hey, Tifa!" No answer. "Hmph! Listen, Vinnie," she said turning to Vincent, who was doubled over the counter with his face buried in his arms, "I'm gonna go behind the counter and find Tifa, alright?" He only nodded. And with that she went to find the busty woman. Slightly used to the atmosphere, Vincent straightened up, still covering his face with his hand. His eyes flew to the door as a woman in a tight black sweater and jeans walked in. Her hair was shoulder length, black, sort of messy like his, and had the faintest tint of blue. Around her neck was a black satin choker with a tiny diamond and a larger heart-shaped ruby below it. But what really caught his attention were her eyes; thick, dark lashes, small pupils and deep, amber irises with dark rings around them that gave them an almost **wolfish** appearance. She looked around the room with an intense and steady gaze that made any man who made eye contact with her turn away fearfully.

She continued scanning the room and, upon spotting him, strode right over to him with an air of confidence and purpose. She stopped right next to him, leaning back against the counter. She didn't look at him, but when she spoke, he knew that it was directed at him.

"Vincent Valentine, am I correct?" she said sure of her words and in a voice like velvet.

"Depends who's asking."

"Someone who wishes to help with your current predicament."

"What are you talking about?"

"You have questions. I can answer them."

"Can you, now?" She sure was quick with her words. Almost as if she'd been practicing.

"The creature that attacked you the night before last was indeed a werewolf. She was hunting you because she was programmed to do so by Doctor Hojo. You are familiar with him, no doubt. While you may believe that all of his work had been destroyed after the Omega incident, I've come to tell you that one project survived. The werewolf that attacked you was captured by the doctor and had a program set up in her mind to track down and inject the Lycanthrope Virus into one Vincent Valentine, experiment I.D. "Host". The purpose of the project was never revealed, but at the moment that is irrelevant."

"What else do you know about this?" Vincent asked, rage stricken that Hojo's experiments on him extended even after death.

"You have about a month before the virus's effects on you are complete. You have that much time to find a way to change back before it's too late."

"What do you mean by 'too late'?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"'Too late' is on the night of the full moon when you transform and the virus has completely spread throughout your entire system. When that happens, it is more than likely that you will lose control of yourself. If that happens, every living thing around you will be in danger."

Vincent was horrified by her answer. But he didn't show it, instead trying to force himself to be hopeful; she **did** say 'if'.

"And if it doesn't happen?"

"If it doesn't happen, you should consider yourself exceptionally lucky. You'll have given yourself another month, for the virus will remain dormant until the next full moon." He mentally sighed with relief. "But," she began, alarming him. He hated the word 'but'. "If you think that control in that state shouldn't be too much of a challenge to gain, you are severely mistaken. Pain, fear, confusion or all three could easily damage your chances at dominance over the virus's effects on your mind. You think you can handle that?"

Vincent thought for a moment. Pain was something he could handle. Fear was something that had long been absent form his dictionary. And confusion wouldn't be a problem if he could get all the facts of what was going to happen to him before, during and after the change. After thinking this through, he nodded.

"I should be alright with it."

"Hmph. Good luck, buddy." She smirked. Suddenly an irritated look crossed her face. She looked to her left; there was a drunken man seemingly in his thirties ogling her. "Ya wanna lose an eye, keep staring pal!" she snarled. The man immediately turned his face away, a spot on the counter suddenly very interesting.

"Tell me," Vincent began curiously, drawing her attention away from the drunk, "what's your name and how do you know so much about this 'project'?" Sadness flashed behind her eyes briefly and then was gone.

"My name is Syren. And the reason I know so much about this project is that I was the failed 'first attempt'. I had too much will power to succumb to the programming. My sister, Nerys, however, was the successful 'final attempt'. And not just that, but I went back to the lab where he kept us. Well, what was left of it, anyway. I started to flip through the files that were left and found all the information I needed." She smirked, seemingly pleased with herself.

"Well, I told you what I came to tell you, so I guess I'm done here." She straightened up to walk out, trailing her hands behind her over the counter. A small card slipped from underneath one as she walked away. "Let me know if you need anything else."

Vincent looked at the card curiously and picked it up. There was a phone number on it with her name above it. He looked back at her just as she grabbed the wrist of a man trying to grope her, shouting, "Hands off, buddy! This ain't a petting zoo!" She proceeded to smack him upside the head before storming out the door.

"Vinnie!" Vincent turned his head to see Yuffie with Nanaki beside her. "Let's go!" she smiled.

* * *

See? Didn't I tell you they'd get longer? I really like the way this one came out! R&R, please and thank you!


	12. Irony

Disclaimer: Everything in this story except for Syren, her sister and the story itself belong to Squeenix

Vincent: I'm...not really sure...what to say...about that last chapter...

L-wolf13: Something to do with your rising interest in Yuffie?

Vincent: I have I feeling that I'm going to end up doing something bad...

L-wolf13: How bad do you think it'll get? I'll tell you if you're close or not.

Vincent: To put it in rough terms, I'll probably end up doing something unspeakable to Yuffie, like groping or something of the like, I'm going to get smacked for it, snitched on, have the whole team turned against me for doing it, and then I'm going to have to lay my life down on the line in order for at least Yuffie to forgive me.

L-wolf13: 0.o...

Vincent: Well?

L-wolf13: You are way off, man...

Vincent: Is that good or bad?

L-wolf13: Good...I guess...

Vincent: What?

L-wolf13: I can't give too many spoilers, mate. It'd ruin the fun. Savvy?

Vincent: ...

L-wolf13: Good.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Irony

**Outside the 7****th**** Heaven…**

Vincent and Yuffie waited patiently as Nanaki went back inside to retrieve a book he had been reading on werewolves.

_Flashback_

_After exiting the bar, Vincent explained his problem to Nanaki, who listened with great worry which turned into great interest._

"_And now we need any help you can offer." He finished. Nanaki reached up with his hind leg to scratch his ear._

"_Now this is ironic!"_

"_Why?" asked Yuffie, cocking her head a little._

"_Because it just so happens that I have this book that is somewhat of an encyclopedia on Lycanthropes. You may find all the answers you need in there. I'd be glad to lend it to you." _

"_Thanks, Nanaki. This is a big help." said Vincent nodding gratefully at the lion dog._

"_I'll be right back." Nanaki dashed inside to get the book._

_End Flashback_

"Hey, Vinnie?"

"Hm?"

"I've been wondering. Why don't you want everyone else to know about this?" she looked at him with an uncertain expression.

Vincent bowed his head as if in thought, then sighed. "I suppose it's because I don't want them to worry about something that doesn't concern them. The same reason I didn't want you to find out." Yuffie got up to face him at this.

"But you can't hide the obvious forever! Eventually, something's gonna slip, and everyone's reaction's will be worse than it could have been if only you had just told them the truth in the first place!" Vincent's eyes flashed at this. Why couldn't everyone just leave him in peace about these situations?

"You see? This is **exactly** why I prefer to keep these sorts of things to myself! If it doesn't concern you, don't bother getting upset over it! You're not the one being affected, so drop it!"

"Gawddammit, Vincent!!" Yuffie shouted, balling her hands up into fists in frustration. Uh-oh; she hadn't used his pet name. Meaning she wasn't just a little pissed off. She was truly angry. "How can you **still** be like that after all we've been through?! I thought you would've figured out by now, that it **does** affect us!! We're supposed to be friends!! Comrades!! If you're not okay and we don't know what's going on, it hurts us!! Because we don't know if there's anything we can do to help!! If someone close to you is hurt, it's natural to want to help them!! It's natural to worry!! Because we care about you!!" She turned her back on him tears welling up in her eyes. Vincent was taken aback by her outburst. He hadn't realized that he meant this much to her. He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder when she choked out, "And it's also natural to be angry when you've been lied to when all you did was worry…I was scared for you, Vinnie…I was scared…"

Vincent froze at those words.

'She was…**scared**…for me..?' Yuffie **never** admitted that she was scared of anything. Yet here she was telling him that she was scared for his safety and well-being.

"Yuffie, I…" he couldn't think of anything to say at the moment. He bowed his head, now feeling extremely foolish for having snapped at her the way he had. "I'm sorry…" he said quietly.

She turned around abruptly and punched him hard in his right shoulder, and hugging herself tightly, face down.

"You're such a jerk…" she whispered. He let his hand drop hesitantly.

'Nothing I do or say could possibly help at the moment.' He looked down at the ground in shame.

"Um…I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Nanaki's head poked out from the doorway of the 7th Heaven, the journal-like book at his feet. Vincent looked up and shook his head coming forward to pick the book up. Nanaki politely took the book in his mouth for Vincent to take it from him, looking up expectantly as he flipped through the book, eyeing the sketches that Nanaki knew were in there.

"Thanks, Nanaki. I owe you one."

"Not at all. Just let me know if- oh! Yuffie! Are you alright?" he asked with concern filling his one eye as he spotted the weeping Wutai princess.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine!" she said wiping the tears from her eyes. "It's just, ah, it's nothing." She said, forcing a smile.

"Are you sure? Yuffie, if you need to talk, I'm here. And so is Vincent! I'm quite sure he'd be willing to listen." He looked up at said gunslinger, but to his surprise he was looking the other way, scratching the back of his head.

"I think I'm the last person she wants to talk to right now." He said quietly to Nanaki, rubbing his shoulder. Nanaki looked up at him with mingled concern and curiosity, however, said no more. He simply nodded and padded over to Yuffie, inviting her to walk with him while Vincent gazed ashamedly after them. He sighed, turning his attention to the leather-bound book in his hand. There was a title written in Latin and etched in gold leaf reading "Il Marchio della Bestia".

"The Mark of the Beast, huh?" he muttered to himself. He looked up trying to interest himself in the title of the book, but he just couldn't take his mind off of Yuffie and how bad he felt. And now that she wasn't here he felt worse; almost like child who had gotten a gift taken away for not taking good care of it. He started walking, not exactly realizing where he was going until he saw a large red creature ahead of him with a familiar dark haired ninja walking beside him.

'Wait!! W hat am I doing?! I'm supposed to be going home!' He mentally scolded himself for following them when he knew that it would upset Yuffie.

When he returned to his room, the first thing he noticed was his cape and headband set neatly on a chair near his nightstand. He set the book on his bed and stared at the crimson fabric. Once again the urges kicked in, only a little bit different this time. This time, they triggered hunger. Since he hardly ever got hungry and, therefore, hardly ever ate anything, he had absolutely nothing in his small fridge. The urges mingled with information on how to get food and the result was him rushing to the store, heading straight for the deli, and buying a **slightly** larger quantity of meat than was necessary for a man of his size. While he was there, he felt as if his frantic need for the meat was totally apparent and he couldn't stop looking around him to see how many people were staring at him, even though absolutely **no one** was paying attention to him except for a few pretty ladies, of which he spared more than just a passing glance. A thought occurred to him when a particularly scantily clothed woman passed by and winked at him inspiring a particularly strong urge.

'Why do I get the feeling that these urges are heightening my interest in females? Wait. Females? Where did that come from? Since when do I refer to women as females?' He watched as another pretty woman passed by, striking up yet another urge within him. These urges, however, were rather weak. All he did was watch with interest. They were nothing compared to the urges that Yuffie had sparked earlier.

His heart wrenched slightly at the thought of the Wutai princess.

He paid for the meat, receiving an odd look from the cashier as he counted the packages, then left, taking long strides to get back to his room as quick as possible. As he made his way down the street he felt like he was being followed again.

"What is it, Syren?" he asked under his breath in an irritated tone.

"Aw. What's the matter, Mr. Cranky Fangs? Wake up on the wrong side of the moon?" She broke into a fit of velvety laughter beside him, nearly making him trip in surprise.

"What the hell? How did you- ?"

"Please. How far away did you **think** I was?"

"Never mind that. What are you doing here?"

"What? Aren't you happy to see me? Or is there something else on your mind?"

"It's nothing."

"Isn't that the same exact thing you told your lady-friend the night after my sister attacked you?"

'WHY THE HELL WERE YOU LISTENING?!' "Why were you eavesdropping?"

"I was dropping no eaves, sir! I was simply passing by!" she said, giving him a cat-like smirk.

'Bullshit.'

"So what's in the bag?"

"Quick to change subjects, aren't you?"

"Shall we continue _sprechen_ing about what lodged itself in your ass?"

"…"

"That's what I thought! So again, what's in the bag? Sumtin' tasty?"' she asked sniffing the bag closely.

"It's just a few packages of meat." He said, shifting the bag into his left arm protectively and then shifting it back when his shoulder throbbed in protest.

"Just a few?"

"About twenty packages."

"That's not just a few! What'd you buy?"

"I don't think I was paying attention. I just picked up the first thing my hand touched."

"I do that sometimes!" she said, chuckling.

They were silent after that for a little while, both of them happy enough to leave the other to their own thoughts.

"You know…" started Syren.

"What?"

"You really shouldn't be so secretive to your pack mates."

"Pack mates?"

"For their own safety, you should tell them. I mean, I'm not telling you that you have no choice, but if you care about them at all, you should tell them."

"Tell them what?"

"Don't act like a dumbshit. You know what I'm talking about!"

'Who are you calling a DUMBSHIT?!' "I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that again."

"And I'd appreciate it if you could tell me why you're so disloyal!" she said smirking at him. This really struck Vincent hard.

"D-disloyal..?" He had stopped walking, a look of utter shock on his face. He had never once associated that word with himself before.

"Hit a little too close to home, huh?" she said mostly to herself, walking back to get him moving again. "Come on. It wasn't **that** bad, was it?"

"I…it's just…that word…" he couldn't find the right words to say. The word seemed to fit.

"You never really thought yourself disloyal to anyone before? Then that must mean you have a reason for hiding your condition from your pack mates?" she took his arm and tugged to get him to walk.

"Hey! I'm not just gonna drag you back to your apartment, pal. So move your ass or I'm taking the meat for myself and my sister!" That seemed to work because he looked up and clutched the bag closer to him.

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"Anyway, why are you hiding from them?"

Vincent was silent for a moment, debating whether or not he wanted to tell her. Finally he decided she was probably going to be like Yuffie and keep bugging him until he told her.

'…Yuffie…'

He sighed before answering Syren's question.

"I'm not telling them because I don't want them to get involved in something that doesn't concern them. As long as they aren't the ones being affected by this, I see no reason why they should have to know about it."

"Ah. I see where you're coming from. But they're bound to find out sooner or later, right? Just look at your mate, Yuffie! What was her reaction when she found out that you lied to her? Imagine that times ten from everyone else because of how long they were under the impression that you were okay!"

'WHOA!! 'MATE'?!' "She's not my 'mate'."

"Also, remember what I told you! When you change, every living thing around you will be in danger." She said, completely ignoring his comment. "So, in a sense, it **does** affect them! But it's not just about being loyal to your pack mates and their safety; it's also about trust and being able to confide your problems and feelings to those who choose to be close to you. Somehow, the act makes one feel better to be able to trust another."

Vincent was never really one to trust others with his problems; however, what she said somehow made sense. When he resolved to tell Yuffie and Nanaki, he felt like the burden that weighed on his mind had been slightly lifted.

"I guess…that makes sense…but Syren, why do you keep referring to Yuffie as my mate and the others as my pack mates?"

"Well you are, aren't you? Just think of the structure of your group."

"The structure?"

"Let's see. The large dark one is the Elder, the one with the blonde, gravity defying hair is the Alpha male, the one with the ridiculously large boobs is the Alpha female, you are the Beta, the cursing smoker, the one with the robotic cat, the large red one are the middle members, and Yuffie is the Omega. And as Beta you have right to the Omega. See? You have an organized pack complete with pups!"

"Wha- **pups?**"

"Yes. The two orphans that the blonde one and large boobed one care for, right?"

"Wait! How do you even **know** about everyone and who they are in the group?"

"You don't think I follow you all the time, do you?"

"…forget I said anything…"

"What? Scared to admit that I'm right?"

"I can't rightly say that I'm scared of anything." He said, acting coolly.

"Oh yeah? You seemed rather terrified when Nerys had you by the throat!" Burn.

"…"

"I'm sorry, was that hitting a little below the belt?"

"Too far below the belt…"

"Sorry about that. Hopefully for Yuffie, your package is still intact?" Vincent stopped walking again a look of disbelief and discomfort written all over his pale face.

"It was a joke, Vincent! Learn to take one!"

"You seem to get familiar with people quite easily…"

"Hey! Your family to me, courtesy of Nerys!"

'She is such a **smartass!!** She's worse than Yuffie! Oh. Right. Yuffie…' the guilt he felt earlier hadn't lessened at all. 'I wonder if she still wants to talk to me…'

"Vincent!" Vincent's vision snapped back up to meet Syren's quizzical amber eyes. "Are you awake now?"

"Huh?"

"I said your name about ten times! You looked like you were daydreaming."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." Vincent was surprised that she would just allow him to leave her hanging like that. He had greatly expected the Yuffie reaction: the question repeated over and over, never resting until an answer was received.

'Oh, Yuffie…If only you could read my mind and see just how sorry I am…'

* * *

Poor Vincent! Poor Yuffie! But mostly, poor Vincent! He's been screwed his whole life! His girlfriend ran off with some fugly mad scientist, said mad scientist shot him in the gut for trying to protect said girlfriend, he gets experimented on sentencing him to an eternity in Hell, said girlfriend dies, he blames himself for said girlfriends' death, he locks himself in a coffin for thirty years, he wakes back up to the news that said girlfriend's offspring is on the rampage, he helps kill said son, he gets bitched at for not having a phone by a little girl, three years later he gets caught up in some war between people who want to protect the world VS people who want to destroy it, he meets a chick who reminds him of said girlfriend, the bitch dies, he gets landed with said bitch's flat little sister, said flat little sister has said girlfriend's entire memory bank making him go kinda emo, some chick in red rips this giant materia from his chest leaving a huge hole, he starts to lose control of one of the demons from earlier said experiments, he gets smacked around a little by some beast in blue, he gets smacked around some more by some black-winged mo-fo, the weight of saving the planet is landed on his shoulders, he fights some machine-like looking beast who later on blows him up, he goes missing for a little while to do some mourning over said dead girlfriend, he becomes victim of CidxVin, VinxShelke, SephXvin, CloudxVin, HojoxVin, etc. doujinshis, fanfics, and pics., he is now the victim of a werewolf attack, he starts to get messed up in the head worse than before, and now new Wutai ninja girlfriend is mad at him because he bitched at her for doing nothing more than caring about him. Could his life get any more fucked up? If so, please reveiw and tell me how! Thank you for having the patience to read to the end of this lengthy rant!


	13. Development

Disclaimer: Well, as you all should know, FFVII or it's charcters still don't belong to me. But Syren, her sister and the story does.

Vincent: I feel terrible...

L-wolf13: Is it your wounds or is it because you bitched at Yuffie for no good reason?

Vincent: -glare-

L-wolf13: Don't you look at me in that tone of voice, Father Time!

Vincent: What did you call me?!

L-wolf13: You want some o' this? Bring it on, bitch!

Vincet: You'll regret calling me that!!

-loud banging noises, gunshots, squelchy, blood spattering noises, breaking bone noises, yells, screams and an explosing ensue-

Vincent: -sizzling from the explosion- -cough- Where the hell did you get a **hand grenade**?

L-wolf13: -also sizzling from explosion- Honestly? -cough- I have no idea...

Vincent: You know, -cough-

L-wolf13: Huh?

Vincent: Your hair's on fire...

L-wolf13: That's okay...

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Development

**At Vincent's room…**

Vincent set the bag on his dresser and immediately started digging through it to see what he'd gotten. As he read the labels to himself, Syren read them out loud.

"Two tails, four t-bones, three hearts, six rib racks, five loins and five flanks. Oh! Another heart! This is a good selection. Too bad you didn't get any liver!" she said in cheerful disappointment. Vincent could hardly contain his hunger as he reached for a package of flank and tore it open as he sat down cross-legged in front of the dresser across from his bed. The smell of blood nearly drove him mad, but he did his best to calmly bite into the meat. He swallowed, and then got ready for another mouthful before pausing…suddenly realizing that he was eating **raw** meat. He stared down it, stunned by what he just did.

"Don't let it bother you." said Syren, unwrapping one of the t-bones.

'She was watching me?'

"You won't get sick from it, if that's what it is." Vincent shook his head.

"It's just…I didn't even realize until I swallowed it…" he trailed of still staring at the meat in his hand.

"Oh, well! As long as you still have that virus running through your system, that'll keep happening. It's part of your development as a werewolf. Get over it. Besides, it's only raw meat. That doesn't stop it from being food." She calmly took a seat next to him and started taking small bites from her steak. Vincent watched her for a moment like she was insane, before turning his attention back to his own steak and taking another guilty bite out of it. Despite how crazy she sounded, he felt that she was right. Even though he couldn't stand the smell or taste of blood before, right now the virus was causing him to crave it. He didn't have to make it harder on himself by fighting it, so for the moment he would just have to accept it and eat quietly.

Syren was just about to take another bite when she looked up and spotted the book on his bed. She got up and picked it up, reading the title.

"What's this?" she asked, fingering the golden-etched title.

"Hm?" Vincent looked up and stared at the book. "Oh, yeah. That's the book that Nanaki gave me. He told me that it might help me understand what it is I'll be dealing with."

"It might." She had begun flipping through the book and reading a few passages. She seemed satisfied at what she was reading, as though she was expecting flaws in the text, but finding none. She closed the book and nodded her approval.

"Yes, it should help a lot." She went to get out another package of meat before sitting back down next to him.

Just as Vincent was about to start eating his last steak, a familiar scent caught his attention. Without thinking, he started sniffing the air. Syren, who had begun placing empty packages back in the paper bag, heard him and started scenting the air with him. Obviously, she was better at scenting than he was, because in a moment she said,

"Smells like your mate is here! And she has the red one with her." Vincent suddenly panicked. What would Yuffie think if she saw him with a slab of raw heart in his hand and a small trace of blood on his lips? He jumped when he heard foot and paw steps coming up the stairs. He had no choice but to scarf the meat down as quickly as he could. He started tearing and swallowing, not even bothering to chew, and almost choking because of it. He finished the last piece just in time, as a knock came from the door followed by Yuffie's voice.

"Vinnie? Vinnie, please. Open the door." Vincent got up to open the door, but Syren beat him to it, bag in hand.

"Vinnie? Wait! Who..?" she looked in the room to see Vincent standing behind the woman in front of her. Syren held her hand out to shake and put on a friendly smile.

"I'm Syren, Vincent's mentor. I'll be teaching him how to control himself before he turns."

"Mentor?" Yuffie reluctantly took her hand and shook. 'How does she know?!'

"Yes. But he'll need you a lot more than he'll need me, miss-?"

"My name is Yuffie."

"Yuffie. That's quite a pretty name." Syren gave Yuffie a warm smile. She turned her attention to the crimson lion dog next to her.

"And you are?" she asked Nanaki, still smiling.

"My name is Nanaki, Miss Syren, although you can also call me Red XIII. Tell me, Miss Syren, are you, by any chance, the one that attacked Vincent that night?" he asked calmly.

"No. That was my sister, Nerys. But trust me; she isn't at all proud of what she did." She said sincerely, turning to Vincent. "I meant to tell you earlier that she sends her deepest apologies and says to let her know if there is anything she can do to repay you." Vincent shook his head, signifying that he had no intention of making her pay. Syren nodded. "She'll be a little disappointed, but if you're sure." Vincent nodded. "Alright."

She turned back to Yuffie, catching something flickering in her gaze that seemed to her like jealousy. Then she leaned in, whispering, "Don't worry. I'm not interested in him the way you are." Yuffie jumped and blushed looking at her like she was mad.

"Wha-what?!"

"What are you waiting for? Go get him!" Syren said quietly, grinning encouragingly. She stepped aside to let Yuffie and Nanaki in before stepping out the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow to take you to my place. It'll be safer if you were there and not here, where you could easily attack someone." She caught the confused look Vincent gave her and continued, "Even if you don't change, moonlight will still affect you." She looked at Yuffie and Nanaki. "You two are welcome to come, too, if you like. I'd actually prefer you come with us seeing as you'd both be able to help with his control. So, I'll see you guys later, then?"

Vincent nodded.

"Yeah," Yuffie replied.

"Of course," said Nanaki.

"Alright!" Syren grinned again. "Bye, then!" and she closed the door and left.

After a moment of silence, Yuffie spoke.

"Vinnie…I…I'm really sorry about how I shouted at you earlier…I guess I can sorta understand why you'd shut people out like that…you just…don't want to see anyone get hurt, right?" Yuffie looked up and met his gaze hopefully. When Vincent shook his head, her heart sunk and she felt like crying again until he spoke.

"No. I am the one who should apologize, Yuffie." The young ninja looked up at him with wide eyes. "It wasn't fair for me to be angry at you for worrying and wanting to help me. I understand what it's like to have someone close to you to be hurt, and I understand what it's like to worry about them. I know what a terrible feeling it is. That was exactly why I wanted to hide it from you and the others. But also because I wanted to protect you from any dangers this could bring."

"Vinnie…" Yuffie couldn't exactly word how she felt at the moment.

"But now I see that isn't exactly the way to go. So I'll let you and Nanaki come with me if that's what you want. But I don't wan to tell the others about this. At least not, yet. Is that…okay with you..?" he asked her. Yuffie was on the verge of tears when she nodded and smiled, allowing a single tear to roll down her cheek. Vincent saw this and gently brought his hand up to wipe it away with his thumb. Vincent brought her close to him and wrapped his arms around her warmly, resting his hand on her head. Yuffie rested her ear against his chest and listened contentedly. Her eyes were closed, but they immediately opened when she heard his racing heartbeat. She looked up, expecting to see him grimacing in pain, but instead she saw his eyes closed blissfully and he had a small smile on his handsome face. She smiled and rested her head back against his chest.

'Does this mean..? Does this mean…he feels the same..?'

Vincent backed up a little until he was sitting on the bed with Yuffie cradled in his lap, resting his chin on her head. Sitting there, he felt like there was nowhere else he'd rather be.

"Vincent?" asked Nanaki, breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"Why does it smell like blood in here?"

'Aw, crap. How could I forget about the smell?!' "You two promise you won't think anything of it if I tell you?"

"Of course."

"Promise."

"I-I was…eating…raw meat…"

"Raw?!" Yuffie cried. However, she didn't move from her position on his lap.

"I couldn't stop myself. I just tore open the package and started eating. I didn't even realize what I was doing. But Syren told me not to bother resisting the urge to eat it. She said it was part of my development as a…" his voice trailed away, looking away at the word he couldn't say.

"It's okay, Vinnie. I…it doesn't bother me..." Vincent sighed, tightening his grip on her slightly and resting his forehead against her neck. She brought her hands up to pet his hair in solace, then put one of her hands on his jaw-line just behind his ear and traced her fingers lightly over to the underside of his chin. She continued to stroke him like that until she felt an odd jittery movement underneath her. Still stroking him, she looked down to see his right leg moving up and down rapidly in response to her attentions. She couldn't help but giggle as she continued to stroke and pet him, emitting more movement from the stoic gunman.

"Wow, Vinnie. I didn't know you liked being petted like this." Yuffie said quietly, trying to suppress another wave of giggles.

"I didn't know that either. Maybe this comes with turning." He didn't move from his position, nor did he stop moving his leg until Yuffie stopped stroking his jaw-line. But she was still lacing her fingers through his silky black hair, which was suddenly very interesting to her.

"Hey, Vinnie?"

"Hm?"

"How do you keep your hair so nice?"

"What do you mean?"

"What kind of shampoo do you use? What kind of comb do you have? Do you do anything to it to make it so soft?"

"To tell the truth, it's natural. I do absolutely nothing to it, except comb it out in the shower."

"That's it? No special shampoo or conditioner or something?" she was looking at him in awe.

"None."

"Vincent?" said Nanaki, getting his attention.

"What?"

"Has the book been any help?" Vincent suddenly remembered that he hadn't even begun to read it.

"Sorry. I actually haven't started reading it, yet." He remembered Syren flipping through it, and telling him that it was the right book to be reading. He reached behind him for the leather-bound book and repositioned Yuffie in his lap so that her back was to him. He rested his chin on top of her head and opened the book up and started flipping through it until he found the first page of information.

"Well, I think I'll be heading back, now. It's getting dark. Please let me know when Miss Syren comes, will you?"

Vincent nodded.

"Alright!"

"You're staying?" He asked. They both looked at the young ninja.

"If it's alright with Vinnie." Vincent nodded.

"Alright. I'll see you both later on, then." Yuffie got up to open the door for him. He nodded his thanks and left.

"Later, Red!" Yuffie waved. She came back inside and sat her self back between Vincent's legs, getting comfortable and smiling at the fact that Vincent wasn't pushing her away or trying to back off. In fact, he was actually trying to snuggle her closer to him and get them both comfortable. Finally, he reopened the book to the page he'd saved and started reading silently to himself.

Yuffie looked at the page, and then realized she couldn't read it. She looked up at Vincent and before she could say anything, he seemed to read her thoughts and began reading the passage out loud.

"_Being bitten by a Werewolf is the beginning of Hell's worst torments possible. Those who have been bitten know well the nightmare one is forced into. I am no exception…_

_I was only seventeen when I was bitten…I was wandering the woods on a foolish dare. Those woods were supposed to be home to a local Werewolf, who had rarely been seen, yet was feared by all. My friends dared me to go into the woods on the full moon and spend the night there. I didn't think much of it, since I grew up being told that Werewolves were simply myths and legends. But when I entered the line of trees, I felt a strange foreboding about the place. I ignored the feeling, unaware that I was turning away from my last chance to live a normal life. Then...in the middle of the night, in the heat of the full moon, it came. I had heard its howl, nearly an hour earlier, long and mournful. And when I did, the realization struck me like a punch to the throat: it was too late to flee. I knew there was no escape now. There was nothing left but to wait for it to come. And when it did, when it had me in its iron grasp, and its terrifying fangs around my neck…I knew there could be no going back to the life I used to know. And when it bit down, sinking its fangs into me, it seemed to me like an eternity, filled with pain, the taste of my own blood, and the sound of my own agonized screaming…_

"_I remember the fear and disorientation I felt at dawn when I came to. I could hardly move, and the pain coursing through my body was like my blood had become acid…_

Yuffie gasped. "Is…that what you felt, Vinnie..?" When Vincent nodded gravely, Yuffie almost felt like crying for him and snuggled even closer. Vincent's earlier question to her came back to him.

'Why is she being so demonstrative, lately?' he wondered. He'd wait until after he was done reading to ask her.

"_I eventually had to force myself to move and find a stream where I could at least wash the blood away to make myself presentable in front of my friends… no…not my friends. It was because of them that I would have to endure an eternity of this nightmare. But I found myself thinking that if only I had not been so naïve, I could've refused and prevented the whole thing. I suppose, in a sense, everyone was to blame._

"_I returned to the village, staggering and still very sore, looking for my family and friends. When I found them, they looked at me in fear as if I were some monster. My mother, I could tell wanted to embrace me. But she only turned away and wept. My heart wrenched at the sight. My earlier intention was to tell them what had happened…but it appeared as though no words were needed, now. _

Yuffie gasped when he read it, and she brought her hands up to her mouth in shock. Vincent looked down at her, then turned the page and continued reading.

"_I left that night, in search of a quiet place, away from people, taking nothing with me except for a journal, a pencil, and the only being who didn't fear what I had become; my dog, Emmy. The journal, I used with the purpose of writing everything I experienced as a Werewolf in perfect detail and with the intention of donating it to a library, and hopefully made into copies, so that other newly turned Weres would not have to endure the same dread and confusion I did when I was turned. And I hope, dear reader, that, whether you are a young Were looking for some sort of comfort in the form of answered questions or simply curious as to the enigmatic life of Werewolves, you find what you are looking for within the passages of this journal._

_Vincent Donnaham _

Vincent ended the note and decided he'd read enough for the moment. He closed the book and sighed.

'Well, that was a cheerful prologue…'

"Wow. He's got the same name as you, Vinnie!" Yuffie was looking up at him to see what his reaction was.

"It seems so. And he seems to be every bit as dark and brooding as I am…" Yuffie took the book out of his hand and opened it back up, shaking her head.

"No. The way he's talking, it sounds like he's trying to sympathize and make the best of his situation. Besides, you'll never know until you meet the guy. Hey, there're pictures of him back here!" She found a pocket attached to the back cover of the book. There were several pictures of a young man and a large black dog that he guessed were Vincent and his Emmy.

"Look, Vinnie! He even looks a bit like you. Except his hair looks a bit dirtier..." Yuffie was flipping through the pictures and placing them in a pile on the bed for Vincent to look at. Indeed, they looked very similar to each other. Only instead of having red eyes, this Vincent had emerald green eyes.

'Green…Yuffie's favorite color. Oh, the irony…' he thought sarcastically, lying back on the bed when he finished looking at the pictures.

"I wonder if you two could be related." Yuffie thought out loud.

"Not a chance. Last time I checked, I have no siblings and I have no cousins."

"Hmm…" Yuffie turned over and laid herself right next to the silent gunslinger. His eyes were closed and she couldn't help but steal a long, appreciative glance at his handsome face.

"You know…" he started, making her jump. He didn't open his eyes, but he smirked.

"You never answered my question the other day…"

Yuffie was confused. "Huh? Question? What question?"

"Why have you been so much more affectionate than usual?" He didn't have to open his eyes to know that she was blushing. He could practically feel the heat radiating off her cheeks.

"Oh, that! Um…w-well…I j-just…I-I kinda…oh, man…" she was so embarrassed that she couldn't even finish her sentence.

'Dammit, Vinnie! Why did you have to ask me **that**?! I always thought you were the perceptive guy who understood body language!! Wait! Does he know that I like him? Is he just waiting to see if I can tell him myself? Maybe he'll think I'm a coward if I don't just tell him!!'

"Well?" he asked still awaiting her answer.

'Here goes…' "The reason is that…I really, **really**…like you…very much, Vinnie…I probably shouldn't even be using the word 'like'…" her voice trailed off, and his eyes shot open at her confession. He definitely had not been expecting **that**. He slowly sat up and propped himself up on his elbow to look at her. Yep. She was blushing. Furiously.

"You what..?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

"I love you!!" Yuffie cried, eyes shut. Her cheeks, if it was even possible, turned an even deeper shade of red. She turned away, obviously flustered by the fact that she had to repeat herself. Vincent was speechless for a moment, dumbstruck. Her confession gave rise to other questions. **Why** did she love him? And more importantly, did he love her back? He mulled over the last thought, turning it over and over in his head. He realized that he did, but he'd refused to hope with the thought that if Yuffie didn't feel the same for him, he wouldn't feel hurt. But now, hearing her tell him that she did, he felt that he'd had the right to hope all along, and it made his heart leap. The picture steadily grew larger in his mind, making way for other possibilities. Nothing stood between them, like it had with Lucrecia. This time, nothing could make her turn away from him except himself. He was finally allowed to love freely.

After a moment without any response, Yuffie felt that she shouldn't have even said anything. Was he mad at her? Disgusted? Awkward? Probably all three.

'He probably doesn't even like me back. He doesn't feel the same. Why the hell did I let myself think there was a chance?' She felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said that…" Yuffie said quietly. Vincent couldn't help but laugh at that. Did she think that he didn't love her back?

"Why?" he asked her, a small smile playing at his lips. Yuffie turned around; tears were streaming from her wide, stormy eyes. Again, he reached his hand out to wipe the tears away, and then let his hand rest on her cheek, giving her a soft and amorous look.

"Did you…think that I don't feel the same..?" Even though these words were true and calmly spoken, his heart couldn't help but hammer nervously.

Yuffie could've sworn her heart nearly burst with joy. The intensity with which he was looking at her drew her in and told her that it was okay to believe that this was real. He slid his hand to cup to back of her neck and bring her in closer to him. He pushed himself up to meet her, closing his eyes slowly, their lips gently locking in a tender, passionate kiss. He lifted himself up in a sitting position and brought her closer, deepening the kiss, resting his claw on her exposed hip. Yuffie broke the kiss with a gasp, as a shiver was sent through her body; partially because of the area of contact, partially because the metal was cold. Vincent felt her shiver, growing slightly excited as he trailed soft kisses down her neck. Her hands traveled up from his waist to rest on his sculpted chest, and then traveled up again to caress his smooth jaw line, and wrapping her arms around him as he trailed more hungry kisses down the soft skin of her neck. He laid her back down on the bed, wedging his hips between her shapely thighs. She moaned slightly at the contact of his hardening length against her, causing him to groan, signifying his own growing arousal. He brought his claw up to rest beside her head, trapping her in another heated kiss, his tongue begging for entry. She complied eagerly, each hungrily exploring the others mouth, enjoying the others taste. Vincent's human hand traveled down her waist, tracing little patterns around her tight belly, causing her to moan several times into the kiss. He growled in a primal manner in response, deep from within his chest, exciting the young ninja beneath him even further, his hand eventually travelling lower to the button fly of her shorts. He broke the kiss, leaving her gasping for breath, trailing even more kisses, and this time licks, down her neck. She entwined her thin fingers in his dark locks, her own arousal growing with every searing kiss. He loved the feel of the warm creamy skin, her taste, and he could feel her pulse just beneath it. He felt compelled to bite down on it, licking his lips at the thought. As he did this, he felt a small prick on the tip of his tongue. His eyes shot open and he froze at that, searching at the front of his mouth with his tongue. No, he hadn't imagined it. There was a pair of fangs protruding farther down than the rest of his teeth. And he'd nearly bitten her.

"Vinnie?" Yuffie asked, her expectant voice laced with concern. "Why'd you stop?"

"I think we should stop this, before something goes wrong…" he said, hanging his head.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I almost bit you…"

"So what? I was about to do the same thing to you!"

"No, you don't understand. Look…" He pulled his lips back to show her his new fangs. Yuffie's eyes widened and then grew sympathetic as he looked away in frustration and self disgust.

'Okay. Maybe there's **something **that'll get in the way…' He growled at the thought, dragging his fingers and claws along the sheets and balling them into fists in frustration.

"It's okay, Vinnie. We can do it when we change you back." Vincent gave a humorless laugh at that. But he felt some of his confidence boost at her words. At least she had faith that they would find a way to turn him back. He looked back at her, his expression soft. Yuffie brought her hand up to his cheek, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

'Well, at least it's not coming **all the way** between us. I guess I don't mind it all that much. Just being here, with her, like this…' A small smile appeared on his face at the thought, as he was leaning forward to kiss the young ninja on the cheek and laying himself down, resting his head on her lap. Yuffie's heart fluttered as he laid himself down on her lap, still not pushing her away as he would've done before after almost harming her. She started lacing her fingers through his silky raven hair, emitting a sigh of contentment from the crimson-eyed gunner.

Little more than an hour or so passed by in the dark. By this time, Vincent was fast asleep in Yuffie's arms, who had decided to lay herself next to him, caressing his head close to her chest. Sometime in the night, he'd brought his arm up to rest his claw on her side, his human hand buried under her to wrap around her waist.

* * *

Everbody, 1, 2, 3...AWWWWW

Vinnie and Yuffie are gettin all cuddly, fluffy and all that other lovey-dovey shit! :3 Dontcha just love it?

Anyway, you know the drill! R&R


	14. Oddities

Disclaimer: Yeah...I don't think it's necessary to say so...but just to avoid getting sued to death...-sigh- FFVII and it's characters belong to Squeenix. Not me.

Vincent: Did you know that I'm still a virgin?

L-wolf13: Um...w-why are you telling me this...?

Vincent: Just thought I'd share that with you, seeing as you might be putting me and Yuffie together...

L-wolf13: Might?

Vincent: You will be putting me and her together, then?

L-wolf13: No shit, Sherlock. It's called a Yuffentine for a reason.

Yuffie: SCORE!!

L-wolf13: You're welcome.

Vincent: I guess I don't mind all that much. As long as nothing happens to her that I can't prevent...

L-wolf13: ...something will happen...

Vincent: !!

L-wolf13: But you can stop it by shedding about a gallon or two of blood, don't worry.

Vincent: ...Great...I feel so much better...

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Oddities

**In the lobby of Vincent's inn…**

Yuffie waited patiently (gasp) with Nanaki and Syren for Vincent to wake up. He had seemed so comfortable and serene lying where he was that she loathed the idea of waking him up. So, with a smile and a kiss on his forehead, she got dressed and quietly went downstairs until he was ready. Syren had nodded, as if she'd expected nothing different. She promptly explained that the healing bite and the new, subtle changes his body was going through would have a draining effect on him and that his energy would be a little low for about a week until his body was accustomed to the difference.

Vincent awoke to find his arms empty of warm, curvy ninja. This displeased him. He sat up groggily, squinting in the light for Yuffie. He sat up, feeling rather weak, noticing that Yuffie had taken the liberty of removing his shirt to make him more comfortable along with re-dressing his wounds. They were still very painful, but at least they'd stopped bleeding. He picked his folded shirt off his chair and threw it on, strapped Cerberus and its holster onto his thigh, then grabbed the book and headed out, intent on finding Yuffie. Despite how well he'd slept, he still felt exhausted.

'I wonder if this has anything to do with the change…' he thought.

When he got down to the lobby, he smiled as Yuffie came running to hug him.

"Morning, Vinnie!" she said brightly, wrapping her arms around him.

"Good morning, Yuffie." He said, hugging her back.

"You sound tired." Yuffie looked at his face closely. "You look tired, too."

"I do?" Did he have marks under his eyes?

"Yeah! Under your eyes is kinda dark!" She rested her hand on his cheek, at which he reflexively closed his eyes.

"Are you ready to go, Vincent?" asked Syren, walking up to them with Nanaki trailing her. He nodded, too tired to really say anything. Although, he did want to ask her if this unusual fatigue was due to his turning.

"Well, Syren was right when she said you'd be wiped out!" Yuffie said as they headed out. Vincent looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" He just barely finished his sentence before he yawned revealing his new fangs.

"You know, those fangs are actually kinda cool!" Yuffie said, giggling.

"Yuffie…"

"Oh, sorry! She said that for about one week, you're gonna feel really tired because your body is still getting used to the smaller changes that are going on."

'So it is because of the change…' "I see."

"So, Vincent, how are you feeling this morning?" There was a hint of slyness in her voice, saying that she knew damn well how he was feeling and just wanted to ask to be a bitch.

"Just peachy…"

"That's good! Alright guys, hop in!" She opened the doors to a black pickup parked just outside of the inn.

'Okay, maybe she's not such a bitch.'

"Nanaki's gonna have to sit up front with me. Sorry you two, but there's no door back there to keep him from falling off!" She scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

Yuffie was perfectly fine with the idea. Vincent, however, was pissed. But he didn't say a word and just got in the back with Yuffie. A few miles into the trip, Vincent started to get a really uncomfortable itch at the base of his tail bone. He didn't want to scratch it in front of Yuffie, so he thought he would just wait it out until they got off the truck. But the itching just got worse and worse until he couldn't help but twitch and growl with frustration. This caught Yuffie's already undivided attention.

"What's wrong Vinnie?"

"Yuffie, could you please look the other way for a moment?"

"Um, sure, I guess." She looked in the other direction, letting her short hair ruffle in the wind. Vincent smiled gratefully as he reached back and scratched like mad, sighing with relief. When the itch had gone he stopped short, suddenly feeling an odd length. He grabbed it and jumped when he found that he had feeling in it. He checked to see if Yuffie was looking; the Wutai princess was looking the other way blissfully. He quickly undid his belts and looked back inside his pants, feeling quite stupid at what he was doing, when he suddenly gasped. Attached to the base of his tail bone was what looked like an almost full tail.

"What the hell?!" he couldn't stop the outburst, which caused Yuffie to turn around and look at him. He could've sworn her jaw nearly dropped free from her skull. Here was the all-serious Vincent Valentine with his belts undone, his pants a little slack revealing black boxers with red pinstripes, and a black tail clutched in his human hand, blushing furiously…which got worse when he noticed Yuffie staring at him with an amused grin on her face. And he could tell she was fighting hard not to laugh.

'Great…can this day get any worse?'

"Is that why you asked me to look the other way?" she asked, just barely able to keep the laughter out of her voice. Vincent bowed his head shamefully, making Yuffie squeal, such as a child when she's seen something unbelievably cute. She reached out and held his face in her hands, smiling.

"I think it's cute, Vinnie." Even though Vincent didn't normally find the word "cute" as a valid description of himself, let alone a compliment, coming from Yuffie it almost sounded like the most beautiful word in the world. His blush faded a bit and he gave her a small smile. He suddenly had the strangest notion: he was happy right now because of Yuffie. So if he let go of his tail, would it wag? He let go and the tail immediately started wagging.

"Aw!! How cute!" Yuffie squealed with delight, hugging Vincent around the neck.

'This's interesting…' at the sound of Yuffie's voice and touch, his tail started wagging more frantically, as if they were a remote for it. He refastened his belts, shoving the tail back in his pants.

"I'm going to have to fix that later…" he said sitting down.

"What? You mean cut it off?"

"No, I mean cut a hole in the pants for it. Because it's very uncomfortable sitting on it like this…"

"Well, why don't you just let me cut it now?" she said reaching for a kunai in her pack. Suddenly the window up front slid open and Nanaki poked his head out.

"Miss Syren says not to cut them yet. She has a pair for him at her mansion."

'SHE WAS WATCHING?!' Vincent thought in dismay. He sighed. He probably shouldn't be surprised. She seemed to know his every move without having to bat an eye in his direction. He leaned back against the railing of the back of the pickup, sniffing the air. He caught himself doing it again, but this time he made no effort to stop himself. Why bother if he was just going to do it over and over again? They veered off the road, at which point the terrain became significantly bumpier. Whenever the truck leapt, Vincent was flung of the seat, landing hard on his ass…and, consequently, his newly grown tail. He yelped with pain, rubbing his sore tail.

"Dammit, Syren! Do you think you could drive just a little smoother?!"

"Sorry, Vince! You're gonna have to bear with me! I told Nerys I'd have you guys over in the next half hour! Don't worry, though! We're almost there!"

'Great. I feel so much better.' He mentally grumbled. Yuffie was trapped in a fit of helpless laughter.

By the time they reached the mansion, Vincent was moaning with pain and rubbing his sore arse.

"Don't worry, Vinnie. We'll put some ice on it when we get inside, okay?"

"Yeah, sure…ooowww…"

Syren's home was a large estate with an enormous yard with the scent of livestock coming from the other side of the mansion. The front yard was covered with green grass and the small boulevard that led to the front of the building was lined with giant oaks. The estate sat on the very edge of a nearby wood, bringing the scent of pines on the cool breeze. The sun was high in the sky, beating down warmly and casting a beautiful light to reflect off the mansions walls. The mansion itself was a good four stories high.

"This place is huge!!" Yuffie cried with astonishment. "How did you guys afford this place?!"

"Oh, it's nothing really," said Syren, putting a hand up to shield her eyes, "It was abandoned when my sister and I found it. We just fixed it up a bit and stole a few things to cozy up the place."

"And the livestock?" Vincent asked.

"Bravo, Vincent. Some of the animals were our own. But we stole some others so they could breed."

"Do you have housekeepers or something like that?" Yuffie asked, still gaping in awe as they approached the mansion.

"Nope! It's just me and Nerys."

"So it's just you two taking care of it?!" Yuffie exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the amber-eyed woman. "This place is huge!"

"I know. But Nerys is the one who takes care of it. For some reason, she's always been fond of house cleaning." Syren tipped her head thoughtfully, tapping her chin in wonder.

The inside of the mansion was spacious and well decorated, without being too crowded with many things. The lobby was a wide room with white walls and gold borders, and above them hung a chandelier that was made of what seemed to be crystalline bones.

"We made that," Syren commented abruptly. She was pointing at the chandelier, "My sister and I." Before them was a pair of staircases on the left and on the right. The railing of these ivory stairs was gold to match the borders on the walls. There was a massive circular carpet on the floor beneath them with intricate gold moons and silver stars against a navy blue background. Near the end of each staircase was a hallway. To where they led, Yuffie intended to find out while she was here. The staircases were also lined with candles hung upon their corresponding walls with ivory handles and crystalline cups and mirrors on the faces of their candle mounts.

"This place is amazing! Did you also paint this place?" Yuffie asked gawking in awe at the spectacle around her.

"No. Actually, despite it being abandoned, this place was pretty well decorated and taken care of when we arrived. A lot of dust, spiders and old furniture covered with dirty sheets, but we cleaned that up. Whaddya think?" Syren asked, giving a wink and a smile.

"It's nice," said Vincent looking around.

"It is quite a beautiful place," agreed Nanaki.

"I'll give you a tour of it later if you like. But you're also welcome to explore yourself. But for now, it's time for you to meet my sister." She made her way into the left hallway, humming a strange tune. Nanaki followed, Vincent and Yuffie trailing after. They passed quietly down the left hallway, taking note of the velvet red carpet. Every door they passed was closed, and if not for the large window at the end of the hallway, it would've been very dark. She led them all the way down the hall and then turned right into another hallway that led to a massive ballroom.

"WOW!!" Yuffie cried, the echo resounding loudly around the enormous space.

"It would probably look even better if we had friends we could invite to put this room to use." She led them out of the mammoth ballroom and pulled open a door on the other side. This side of the house looked almost the same as the front lobby only it was smaller and there was only one staircase.

"This way." Syren waved her hand for them to follow. She led them into an adjacent room that looked like a library. She led them through a maze of bookshelves, many of the covers catching their eyes, especially Nanaki's. He gave Yuffie pleading eyes when a particularly old looking book caught his attention. It was hard for Yuffie to resist, but she reminded him that they were going to be here for a while.

Syren brought them to what seemed like the center of the room. There was a neat arrangement of comfortable looking couches, in one of which was an almost exact replica of Syren.

She looked up from the book she was reading, immediately standing up and giving them all a shy but friendly smile. She was dressed in a fashion that was not much different from Syren's except the choker she wore around her neck was on a white satin ribbon and instead of a ruby heart and diamond she wore a blue topaz heart with an ebony stone above it. And it was her eyes that really caught Vincent's attention; they were the deepest of blue with pale streaks in the center around her small pupils, her lashes just as long and dark as her sister's. The fierceness, confidence and dominant attitude that was present in Syren's eyes was completely gone in hers and instead replaced by serenity, uncertainty and a docile light.

"Hello. My name is Nerys. I'm Syren's sister. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She said quietly, giving them another shy smile. She looked at Vincent, and her eyes became sincere and apologetic.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you, Vincent. I swear I didn't mean to. But I can understand if you can't forgive me, though I have a hope that there is something I can do to make up for such an act?" Vincent was taken aback to see tears beginning to well up in her cerulean eyes. Vincent felt pity for her and shook his head, giving a calm smile.

"Please, there's no need. Syren told me everything and I understand. It wasn't your fault and you really shouldn't feel obligated to pay me back for anything. The real monster behind this was Hojo. And now that we're on the subject, I'd actually like to apologize for shooting and punching you."

Nerys' tears had spilled and she was shaking her head.

"Please, don't apologize. I know you were only defending yourself."

"C'mon, Nerys, stop crying." Syren took her sister in her arms, rolling her eyes and patting her on the back. "You don't have to apologize for everything that goes wrong, you know."

"I c-can't help it…" she sobbed into her sister's shoulder. Syren sighed.

"Put a bandage on that bleeding heart of yours. The world is not gonna end because of every, tiny, insignificant mistake made. " Nerys pulled away from her sister, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Forgive me. It seems I'm a bit too soft for my own good!" She gave a small, good-humored smile.

"Well, while you're pulling yourself back together, why don't I show these lovely people to their rooms?" She walked out of the library, twisting back through the maze of bookshelves, leading back through the back lobby and up to the second floor.

"Take your pick," she said spreading her arms, "All of these are bedrooms and they're all free for use."

"Really?!" Yuffie was ducking in and out of doors, marveling at the luxuriousness of each room.

"And if you like big rooms, we've got some that are about a quarter the size of the ballroom down the hall." She pointed a cane that she seemed to have pulled out of nowhere down the hallway.

"Are you serious?!" Yuffie spared a quick glance of amazement in Syren's direction before tearing down the hall and bursting into one of the rooms. Seconds later a cry of amazement resonated down the hallway.

"HOLY SHIT!!" Syren was standing with her cane set in front of her, a satisfied look on her face. Nanaki was just staring blankly down the hallway, obviously surprised by Yuffie's speed. As for Vincent he had followed Yuffie down the hall at a significantly calmer pace.

"I think we've found a room." He said lifting an amused brow as Yuffie scrambled around the room gazing in awe at every single thing.

"Alright! I'll get you a new pair of pants so you don't have to keep sitting on your new tail, 'kay Vince?" Vincent nodded and headed into the room where his favorite ninja was snuggling up on one of the beds. Indeed, the room seemed about the size of a quarter of the ballroom. There were three large windows that lit the entire room up with sunlight. On both sides of the door was a bed and to his left, on the other side of the bed, was a large closet with a bathroom. In the middle of the room, there was a small oval rug with a table and two chairs over it, a simple but elegant flower arrangement on top. To the right, next to the bed he assumed he'd be sleeping on, was a small dresser with a lamp standing on it.

He looked back at Yuffie who had proceeded to ogle the bathroom. He smirked and walked over to the dresser, placing the journal inside the top drawer. He unstrapped Cerberus, placing the heavy gun on the top of the dresser and collapsing with sigh of contentment on the bed. He turned over, lying on his stomach, letting his feet hang over the side of the bed. He closed his eyes sleepily before opening them again when he felt someone looking at him. Yuffie was staring at him over the side of the bed, her delicate fingers peeking over the edge. The light in the room seemed a bit different, darker.

"Yes…?"

"Hi, Vinnie!" she giggled.

"Hello, Yuffie…" He closed his eyes again, feeling his tail wanting to wag.

"Syren brought these." Vincent's eyes snapped open. Yuffie was holding two or three pairs of black pants in her arms.

"When?"

"While you were sleeping, which was about a few hours ago, I think."

"What…?" He lifted his head up, looking out the window. The sun had sunk lower in the sky and was reaching early sunset.

"What time is it?"

"5:34."

"It doesn't feel like I was sleeping for that long. I just closed my eyes and then I felt you looking at me."

"Huh. That's weird." Yuffie cocked her head thoughtfully.

"How long were you sitting there?" He asked, curious as to how long she'd been watching him.

"Not very long. I took a shower after Syren came with the pants and when I came out, I heard you moaning in your sleep and I was gonna ask you what you were dreaming about. But I guess you weren't dreaming about anything."

"…I guess not…" Vincent gave an enormous yawn, feeling terribly sleepy. He laid his head back down and closed his eyes, feeling Yuffie climb up on the bed next to him. He moved over pressing his body to hers. He rested his head against her shoulder, melting at Yuffie's touch as she stroked his hair. He opened his eyes again, feeling a bit cold. He looked up and the sky had completely darkened.

'How long was I sleeping this time…?" he thought wearily. He looked down at himself, taking note of the clean bandages and missing shirt. Lying next to him was Yuffie, curled up like a kitten. He smiled mentally at how peaceful she seemed.

He got off the bed, taking note that Yuffie had also taken the liberty of taking off his boots as his bare feet touched the cool wooden floor. He spotted the pants that Yuffie had shown him earlier and reached out for one, unfolding it and raising his brow in amusement as he spotted the hole in the back meant for his newly gained appendage.

Unfastening his belts, he rested the pants on the bed and removed the ones he was wearing, folding them up and putting them in the drawer below the book. He also noticed a pair of boxers that was lying underneath the pants he'd picked up and guessed that there was probably another hole in that one. Before he removed his own boxers, he blushed slightly at the thought of Yuffie suddenly waking up to find him stark-naked. He turned back to find her sleeping peacefully. Sighing he quickly removed his boxers, folded them and put his new ones on, pulling his tail through the hole and then pulled his pants up over it and pulling his tail through the other opening.

Vincent turned to look at his tail as he tested the movement, getting a new feel for it. He was able to move it freely and comfortably now and smiled at the thought of more affection from Yuffie because she thought it was, as she put it, "cute". He quietly climbed back onto the bed next to the petite ninja, laying on his left side then getting back up, remembering his brass gauntlet and removing it, stretching the fingers on his left hand.

Now that Chaos was gone, and with it the diseased, purple-reddish tint of the skin on his arm, he really had no reason to wear it. But he'd gotten so used to it that he hardly ever remembered that he could take it off. When he laid the heavy gauntlet on the dresser next to Cerberus, he climbed back onto the bed again, this time pulling the warm Wutai ninja close to him, instantly falling asleep for the third time that day.

* * *

I wonder how many Yuffentine fans are squealing with delight and shaking their heads like silly little kittens out there...

I do hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. And you know the drill, though no one is following it verra well. Please review. I WANT to hear your honest critique and I WANT you to tell me what I should add or remove so I can make this story the best shit you've ever read. GOT IT? Or if it already IS the best shit you've ever read, TELL ME!! I need my gloating priveleges.


	15. Twitches

Disclaimer: What I am about to say to you all is so painfully obvious, I think I'll go insane from repeating it...but...FFVII is sole property of Squeenix. There! I said it!

Vincent: I'm...so...tired...

L-wolf13: ! You know what? That reminds me of Shelke! What ever happened to her?

Yuffie: She's gone. I ate her.

Vincent: Y-you what...?

L-wolf13: You stole my line that I stole from my friend Megan!

Megan: What'd you steal from me?

L-wolf13: Nuffin'...

Megan: K.

Vincent: Isn't this commentary supposed to be for you, Yuffie and me?

L-wolf13: Correction; 'You, Yuffie and _I_'.

Vincent: Would you really say "Isn't this commentary for I"?

L-wolf13: Hey, don't blame me! That's just the way the English language is! If it were up to me, there wouldn't be stupid little grammar rules like that.

Megan: Umm...are you gonna start the story yet?

L-wolf13: Oh shit! That's right! Thank-ar, Megan.

Megan: -gir voice- Mm-hm!

Vincent: -was just about to say something-

L-wolf13: Shaddap! It's my mouth, I can mutilate and butcher the English language howsever I leikz! -airbite- I'll butcher it wif mah teef!

Vincent: -sigh- Just get on with the story...

L-wolf13: Okay, fine. But you have to go back to sleep first.

Vincent: Already ther-...zzzzz

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Twitches

**He awoke with a twitch and a gasp…**

Looking out the window, Vincent could see the light of the imperfect moon shining brilliantly through the giant glass windows, filling the room with pale, silvery light. He still felt under rested, though not as much as before. He rubbed his face and looked down at the still, warm figure of Yuffie, sleeping peacefully beside him. He sighed at the sight, feeling at peace every time he looked at her. He got up from the bed, feeling like he should start reading from the book again. He quietly opened the drawer and pulled out the book and opened it, not at all surprised that he could see the words as clearly as though he were reading in broad daylight. This characteristic he had even before Nerys had bitten him.

He turned to look back at where Yuffie was sleeping when he heard her stirring from sleep, moaning and reaching out for his warmth.

"Mmmmm…Vinnie…" she moaned in her sleep. She opened her eyes and sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes. She looked around and saw him crouching in front of the nightstand with the open book in his hand. Though she could guess what it was he was doing, she asked anyway.

"What'cha doin', Vinnie?" Vincent smirked and sat back on the bed, Yuffie curling up in his lap like a kitten. Vincent set the book aside and wrapped his arms around his Yuffie-kitten, warming her up with the heat from his toned muscles. The Yuffie-kitten giggled and rolled over, taking Vincent's face in her small hands and kissing him on his jaw-line. Vincent's tail wagged and he smiled, nuzzling her neck, kissing her in the same place. Vincent set her on his lap like before and grabbed the book setting it in front of him and Yuffie.

"You're gonna read some more?"

"Yeah. I wanna know more about these weird sleep patterns."

He flipped the pages until he found a title that fit the current phase of the moon.

"_Nights of the Waning Crescent Moon_

_First Night…_

_I feel very sick… _

_I have a splitting migraine and the pain in my right side and neck where I was bitten is unbearable. I've never vomited blood before. It's rather frightening, really. Sometimes I wonder if I'm going to die from such frequent blood loss. _

_Emmy has stayed by my side all day and night, whining, restless and licking my face and wound in comfort whenever I cried out or otherwise uttered any other painful sound. She is such a sweet lass. She's only left me once and it was to go hunt for food. I'm too weak to start a fire to cook the meat she brings. I can't even drag myself to the carcass. Emmy knows this so she's been ripping pieces off the carcass and bringing them to my hand. _

_Lifting my arm to eat is a chore._

_Second night…_

_I feel exhausted. I believe it may be linked to the cost of the healing bite and the possible changes my body is going through before the full moon. When I lie down and close my eyes it feels like only a moment before I open them again. But when I look outside, the sun is in a completely different position than when I first closed my eyes. I don't know why it happens and the best guess I can come up with is that my mind is too busy tending to the changes to dream. Dreamless…and, just perhaps, I should be thankful for it. I could be having constant nightmares after my ordeal with the Werewolf in the woods…_

_I should also note that I've continued to eat my meat raw. At first I was repulsed by what I was doing, but I find myself unable to deny that I enjoy the taste._

_Third night…_

_Most of the times I wake up, it's preceded by a myoclonic twitch; a brief spasm of a muscle or muscles that occurs in the rift between sleep and wakefulness. I'm not exactly sure why it happens, but I think it's related to subtle shifts in my muscular structures. I say this because every time I was woken up by a myoclonic twitch, I was laying in a patch of moonlight. And it's common knowledge, even to those who don't believe in Werewolves, that it's the light of the full moon that triggers a full transformation. So why can't a smaller amount of moonlight trigger smaller changes?_

_Note: I've developed a pair of fangs. I accidently bit my tongue while eating._

_Fourth night…_

_There's nothing very new to write about to today. Unless of course I count the growth of a new tail. It started with a very uncomfortable itch at the base of my tailbone. I had to scratch for quite a while before it was relieved. As I was scratching, I felt a length attached to my rear end. I grabbed it and I was quite startled by the sensation it gave me. I looked back, grasping the length in my hand: a tail; a length of dusty black fur extending from my tailbone. I can move it just as well as Emmy can move hers. I had to cut a hole in my pants for it, which would've been very embarrassing if Emmy was human._

_Fifth night…_

_The bite is nearly healed. It's still painful, but it's no longer bleeding. I'm still very exhausted, but it's getting better by the night. I'm beginning to feel more like myself, which I know is only due to the waning of the moon. I know that as soon as she begins to fill out again, the changes will truly begin. I have to admit, I'm scared. There, I said it. I'm scared…_

_Hopefully, on the other hand, I will be able to prevent you, dear reader, if you are a new blood, from experiencing that same fear._

"_Nights of the Last Quarter Moon_

_First night…_

_I'm feeling much better. The bite is still healing, but I expect it to be completely healed by the new moon. I'm still nervous and still counting down the time until the full moon. But for the moment, I think I'm safe from more plaguing oddities. There's nothing new or of importance that I could mention. The only anomalies I'm experiencing are my new tail, fangs and my new taste for raw meat, which I think will stay with me throughout the entire lunar cycle._

_Second night…_

_The bite, of course, is still healing. The pain is lessening by the day. Nothing new has happened to me that I can tell._

_Third night…_

_I've been eating raw meat for a whole week now. I'm no longer very conscious of it. I'm not sure I'll be writing very much as the moon continues to wane. _

_Fourth night…_

_I'm very bored. Living so far away from people for this long has dampened my spirits. I think Emmy has sensed this. She's been staring at me a lot and making as much noise as possible; perhaps to remind me that I'm not really alone. She's such a sweet girl._

_Fifth night…_

_I'm still bored. Emmy has still been doing her best to keep me company. I decided that it would be safe to go for a little outing. The weather was very nice, I have to admit; warm, breezy and sunny. _

_We encountered a pack of wolves while we were out. I was nervous at what their reaction to me would be as they approached us. They were very cautious and they never took their eyes off us. The Alpha was the first to come so close to us. He was the largest of them and the darkest. And the way he looked at me was as though he respected what I had become. We held each other's gaze for a while as his pack cautiously but curiously sniffed me and touched noses with Emmy before he turned and wandered back into the dense forest without a backwards glance. The pack soon followed and Emmy and I went the other way back to the tiny cottage we'd found. _

_In the distance that night, I heard the wolves howling. Their song was beautiful to me. I almost felt like joining them."_

Vincent stopped reading and closed the book, setting it back on the nightstand.

"We'll, I guess that explained the twitches and the blank sleeping." Vincent said, resting his chin on Yuffie's head. He looked out the window where the moon was now visible. The lighting in the room suddenly changed and he knew it was because his eyes had dilated. An uncomfortable ache settled all over his body like when he was a child and was very sick with a strong bout of the flu. He looked away without a sound and hugged Yuffie tighter, burying his face into her hair.

The tiny ninja giggled, oblivious to what had just happened. The sound of her laughter made Vincent feel a little better and his tail started wagging gently, making a rustling noise as it dragged across the blankets. Yuffie heard it, recognizing what it was and started giggling more, bringing her hands up to rest on the gunslinger's arms.

"I'm gonna miss that tail when it's gone." Yuffie giggled. Vincent smiled to himself.

'So optimistic…' he thought.

"You really think we can change me back?" he whispered, still shuddering on the inside whenever he uttered the last three words.

"Of course, Vinnie!" she giggled, then suddenly became still. "Why? Are you afraid that we won't?"

Vincent half nodded and half shook his head.

"Yuffie…" he whispered, hugging her so close that she could feel his heartbeat at her back, "…what if we never find a way…? What then? How can you spend your life with a monster like me?"

Yuffie was startled by the sudden soberness he'd taken on and felt a knife in her heart when she spied the pain and despair in his eyes. Then she felt angry. How could he still think of himself this way? Why did he always beat himself up instead of letting go of the past?

"Vincent…for the last time…" she suddenly stood up and faced him, holding his face in her small hands, giving him a start. The intensity in her eyes told him that whatever it was she was about to say, she meant it.

"You…are **not**…a **monster**!" she grated. She said the words so fiercely; he could tell that she was willing him to see what he actually was.

"You are Vincent Valentine, savior of the world! Well, one of them, anyway. And there's so much more to you than what you call the 'monster'. " He blinked and stared. She stared back and smiled.

"I would know, Vinnie. I didn't fall in love with a monster." Vincent chuckled softly.

"So I'm not a monster, then?" he asked, giving her a small smile. She shook her head emphatically.

"No, you're not! Because monsters can't love, can they?" He smiled even wider, taking her back in his arms. She laughed melodically, making his heart melt.

"I guess you're right."

"Hm. And I mean it Vincent; I love **you**, not a monster."

Vincent laughed softly. It was amusing to him now as he looked at how long the two of them had gone on thinking the other had no interest in them. But now he relished the treasure he held in his arms. The thought of how it would've been if Yuffie didn't love him made him even more delighted to have her. And it was the same for Yuffie.

"I love you, too, Yuffie…I always have…since the first moment we met…"

Just before the sun rose, Vincent twitched again and opened his eyes. His tail started thumping softly on the bed when he felt Yuffie's warm, curvy figure curled up against him. His stomach growled and he started sniffing the air for food. He felt like going to the kitchen to get something, but he resented the idea of letting go of Yuffie. Ignoring his hunger, he went back to sleep, waiting patiently for his lovely ninja to wake up.

* * *

I'm very pleased with this chapter. There is also forshadowing in this chapter. If you can spot it, visit my DevART, lemme know, tell me what you found and to the first three who spot the forshadowing I will draw a scene from any point in the story so far that you want. And please, **_PLEASE _**remember to leave a review! I want to know what you think!!!


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